Everything Else
by CuteBlueCherri
Summary: The last half of How to Train Your Dragon, in Astrid's point of view.  This is my first fan fic, so please R&R!
1. Chapter 1

**So, like I said, this is my very first fanfic, so please review! **

**I started it this summer-I just randomly started writing from Astrid's point of view one day because I was bored, and I then just kept going all the way until the end of the movie because it was so fun to write. ^_^**

**But anyways. Enjoy! And PLEASE review! :)**

* * *

><p>* Part 1 *<p>

This was it. My final chance to become the champion and win the honor that was rightfully mine. And it was going to happen. I wasn't going to let it be taken away from me this time.

The battle was almost over, and it was just down to Hiccup and me. The Gronkle was buzzing around somewhere nearby, daring us to take it down.

I wiped my forehead with the back of my hand. Panting, I ran over to the nearest barrier and ducked behind it, gripping my axe with both hands. Then I looked to my right, noticing Hiccup already hiding there. I narrowed my eyes at him and knocked his shield to the ground. "Stay out of my way." I demanded, leaning over to him. "I'm winning this thing."

"Please! By all means." He called to me as I left.

I rolled my eyes, then hid behind different barrier. I peeked out from the side, and when the coast was clear, I slid across to another. I leaned back against the slab of wood that was separating me from my victory. "This time," I said to myself, my heart pounding in my chest. "This time, for sure!"

I took a deep breath, then let out a war cry as I hopped over two more barriers and charged toward the Gronkle, my axe raised in the air. But I cut off as I noticed the dragon on its side, its tongue hanging out. Hiccup stood next to it.

My mouth dropped open as I stared at this scene in utter shock. When I finally came to my senses, I stamped my foot on the ground. "No!" I screamed, swinging my axe around in frustration. "You... son of a half-troll, rat-eating, munge-bucket!"

"Wait! Wait." I heard Stoik say from the stands.

"So... later." Hiccup mumbled, turning around and starting to walk away.

"Oh, oh, not so fast." Gobber said, grabbing him by the back of his fur vest and then setting him back down where he was before he'd started to leave. Hiccup muttered, "Uh, I'm kind of late for-"

"What?" I spat, raising my axe to his neck. "Late, for _what_, exactly?"

"Okay, quiet down! The elder has decided." Stoik announced, raising his arms.

This was my last chance. Whoever the elder chose would win and get to continue on to killing the Monstrous Nightmare in front of the entire village. It had to be me. I'd worked so much harder for this than Hiccup did.

Gobber raised his hook hand over my head. I held my breath.

The elder shook her head, and my heart dropped to my knees. Gobber pointed to Hiccup, and she nodded and grinned.

The crowd burst out into cheers. Cheers that turned my hurt into anger. I slowly turned toward Hiccup, glaring at him. His expression seemed disappointed but apologetic, and it didn't make any sense.

"Oh, you've done it!" Gobber proclaimed excitedly. "You've done it, Hiccup! You get to kill the dragon!"

The other kids came over, whooping. Fishlegs lifted Hiccup onto his shoulder and they marched away, laughing and shouting.

I let out a sigh, and then lowered my axe and hung my head. What had I done wrong? All those weeks of training and those years of practicing had led me nowhere. And of all people, it had to be Hiccup that beat me. The kid who was always screwing everything up had to be the one to take away my victory. I just didn't understand it.

I made my way through the crowd of celebrating people now filling the inside of the arena. I went to the outside of the ring, where the cheering was less deafening. I sunk down to the ground and sat there until everyone had left. I didn't feel like talking to anyone. Not after that totally humiliating experience. I needed to calm down and pull myself together.

Later, when I was sure that everyone was gone, I headed back to the village. All I wanted to do was go home, climb into bed and hide under the covers. Forever.

As I sulked down the main dirt road leading through the marketplace, I spotted Hiccup carrying a large round basket over his shoulder. He was heading down the path that led out of the village, to the forest.

So he was sneaking off again. He always disappeared in the afternoons after Dragon Training and then showed up again before supper. I knew that he probably had some kind of a hideout in the woods; I had seen him on his way there once. But I wanted to know where it was and what he did there.

I also wanted to know how in the world he became the dragon champion all of a sudden. At the first few practices, he was horrible. But then out of the blue he was taking down dragons left and right. And no one understood why. But now a chance to possibly discover his little secret presented itself.

My suspicion got the best of me and I decided to follow him. I stayed a good distance behind, far enough away that he would never see me. But I always kept him in sight.

We traveled through the forest for three minutes before we reached an opening in a wall of rocks. It looked like a large cove of some sort. After he went inside, I waited at least a minute before I snuck in behind him. Hiding behind a large mossy rock, I waited until his back was turned, then climbed up onto it. I decided to use that time to sharpen my axe while I waited for him to notice that I was up there. He could be so naive sometimes.

He appeared to be talking to someone else, but I didn't see anyone there except for the two of us. "We're leaving. Let's pack up. Looks like you and me are taking a little vacation," He was saying. "Forever."

He bent down and opened the basket, letting out a long sigh. He was not wearing his fur; instead he had on this leather harness-type thing that crossed in front and went over his shoulders. What was with that?

I ran a stone along the blade of my axe. Startled by the sound, Hiccup looked up and jumped backwards, nearly tripping over a rock on the ground. "Whoa! What the-" He glanced around nervously from side to side. "Um, uh... what... are you doing here?"

"I wanna know what's going on." I said, dropping the stone behind me. I held my axe up and then slammed the end of the shaft onto the rock and used it to push myself up. I jumped off and started toward him. "No one just _gets_as good as you do. _Especially_you." I was right in front of him, walking forward, and he was walking backwards. I spun my axe and switched it to my right hand. "So start talking. Are you training with someone?"

"Uh... What? Training...?" Hiccup mumbled.

"It better not involve _this_." I said, grabbing his harness and yanking it upward.

He wriggled and I let him go. "Yes, I know." He said. "This... looks really bad. But you see this is, uh..."

In the distance, I heard the sound of cracking branches. I gasped, grabbing Hiccup and throwing him down in front of me. I stepped over him and squinted in the direction the noise.

"Alright, alright, alright." Hiccup said, standing up and running in front of me, walking backwards again. "I'm-I'm through with the lies. I've been making... outfits. So, you got me." He grabbed my hand and put it on his shirt, mimicking the way I always yanked him around. I pushed him from side to side, trying to get him out of my view. There was something over there, and I needed to know what it was.

Hiccup continued jumping back in front of me. "It's time everyone knew. Go ahead, drag me back, here we go-"

With my hand that he was holding to his chest, I twisted his arm around, it made a cracking sound, and he fell to the ground. "Ow! Why would you do that?" He groaned.

He started to get back to his feet, but I kicked him to the ground again. "That's for the lies." I explained. I held my axe above him, then dropped it so the shaft jabbed him in the stomach. "And _that's... _for everything else."

"Aw, man..." He murmured. A growling sound coming from the other side of the cove caught my attention again. I held on to my axe with both hands as I noticed a dark figure moving around a ways away. My eyes widened as I realized what it was. I sucked in a horrified breath. "Get down!" I screamed, diving onto Hiccup and knocking us both to the ground.

The dragon bared its teeth and charged toward us, its giant wings flapping.

Struggling back to my feet, I grabbed my axe and held it up, ready to strike the dragon before it attacked us. "Run! _Run!_" I screamed at Hiccup.

"No!" Hiccup jumped in front of me, and once again we both fell to the ground. He yanked the axe out of my hand and tossed it across the grass. Then he stood up and ran over to the dragon, which was only a now a few feet from us. "It's okay! It's okay." He first told the dragon, and then me. He put his hands in the air as if trying to calm down a rearing horse. "She's a friend." He told it.

My heart was banging in my chest and my eyes were wide with shock as I watched this. I tried to stand up, but was too shaken to keep my balance. I squatted, and then managed to push myself to my feet, backing away as I did so.

I studied this dragon as I tried to slow my breathing. It was black from head to toe; a species that I didn't recognize. Then it all came at me at once: Hiccup's constant inquiries of Night Furies, how he would often talk about the half empty page of the dragon manual. So this was what they really looked like.

The dragon settled down a little, but still glowered at me with bared teeth. Hiccup turned to me, holding the dragon back with his hands. "You just scared him."

"_I_scared _him_?" I barked, appalled. The dragon snarled at me, and I flinched. "Who... is _him_?"

Hiccup backed away and let out a nervous laugh. "Uh, Astrid, Toothless. Toothless... Astrid." The dragon growled again.

He had named the thing? How could he do this? That was definitely the first step to befriending the enemy.

I narrowed my eyes and shook my head. He was _so_ busted. I turned around and ran out of the cove and back into the woods. When Stoik found out about this-oh, man-Hiccup was going to be in trouble.

I ran as fast as I could in the direction of the village, looking back every few seconds to make sure Hiccup wasn't trying to stop me. A fallen tree trunk blocked my path, but I climbed on top of it and was about to jump off when something grabbed ahold of my shoulders. Before I could comprehend what was happening, I was up in the air, flying higher and higher above the forest floor.

"Oh, great Odin's ghost! Oh, this is it!" I cried as I looked at my feet dangling above the ground. I didn't stop screaming until I was dropped onto the branch of a very tall tree. I grabbed on to it with both of my hands, hanging from it. I looked up as the dragon-and I noticed as my jaw dropped that Hiccup was _riding _it-landed on the top of the tree and it bent under its weight. My emotions went from surprise to bewilderment to anger. "Hiccup!" I screamed. "Get me DOWN from here!"

"You have to give me a chance to explain."

"I am NOT listening to _anything_ you have to say!" I cried as I tried to pull myself up onto the branch.

He raised his hands a little, gazing down at me. "Then I won't speak. Just let me show you." He said slowly, his eyes pleading. "Please, Astrid."

I glanced down below me. It was a long way down. I heaved a sigh and tried once more to hoist myself up onto the branch. I managed to finally get both of my feet onto it, and I stood up slowly, holding onto a smaller tree branch next to me to keep my balance. I reached for the dragon so I could climb on, but it snarled at me. I jerked my hand back as a reaction, but then grabbed onto a part of the dragon's harness. Hiccup extended his hand to me, but I slapped it away. In his dreams.

I took ahold of part of the saddle and pulled myself on behind Hiccup. Yeah, he had a saddle and everything for it. So this is what he was doing all the time he was never around. Flying around on a freaking dragon, of all things. When I got down from here, he was still in for it. I hope he didn't think that I would let him off the hook just because he gave me a free ride.

Once I was ready, I looked down below me and lifted my arms away from my sides. "Now get me down," I ordered him.

He patted the dragon's head. "Toothless, down." He said to it. "Gently." It wiggled about a little, then slowly spread out its wings. "See?" Hiccup said, turning to me. "Nothing to be afraid of."

Toothless lifted his wings up high and then flapped down as fast as he could, sending us all shooting up into to the air. We were heading straight upwards, and the dragon was flying so fast that I began to fall off the back. I screamed as I struggled for something to grab on to, anything.

"Toothless!" Hiccup yelled. "What is wrong with you? Bad dragon!" As we slowed down a bit, I was able to scoot enough forward on the saddle to grab on to him. We stopped flying and Hiccup turned his head toward me with a bewildered but sheepish smile. "He's, uh-he's not usually like this... oh no." This time we dropped and plunged straight for the ocean. I squeezed Hiccup tighter and held on for dear life as we smacked the surface of the water a few times and then shot back up again. "Toothless, what are you doing-we need her to like us!" He shouted.

We dropped again, twirling every direction. "And now he's spinning. Thank you for nothing, you useless reptile."

"Okay!" I pleaded, leaning my face against Hiccup's back as I held on as tightly as I could. "I am sorry! I'm sorry. Just get me off of this thing!"

Then, as if I had just said the magic words, we jerked to a halt and the dragon opened its wings, gliding inches above the water. My pulse began to slow down as we gently hovered along. After a few moments, I tentatively lifted my head and opened my eyes. I slowly released my grasp around Hiccup's waist as I looked up. We were floating among orange and pink clouds, a gentle breeze blowing against my face. I glanced around myself in awe, trying wrap my mind around what had just happened.

I took one hand off of Hiccup's side and raised it up, feeling the moist air run through my fingers. I slowly lifted my other hand in the air and then leaned back, the clouds rushing past me. I smiled and closed my eyes.

I couldn't believe that one minute we were spinning around in pure madness, and the next, it was bliss.

For what seemed like several minutes, we flew through the sky, silently enjoying the sunset through the painted clouds. I used to watch the sunsets when I was little, but never in my life had I experienced one like this. This was too wonderful for words.

It grew darker and darker, the sun disappeared over the horizon, and the clouds became illuminated by the moon. Pretty soon I had lost track of time-all I could think about was the night.

Then beyond a think patch of clouds the most beautiful lights came into view. Spectacular beams of purple, blue, and green danced around us, a sight that seemed only possible by magic. I gasped, amazed at the beauty that lied just above the clouds, but I had noticed before. I rested my hand back on Hiccup's side, smiling in awe at the breathtaking view.

We soared past the lights and beyond the clouds, and before I knew it, we were flying above our village. It looked beautiful from above, the glow of fire within the giant statues surrounding the coast. My eyes widened as I looked at all the little people below, going about their business, and they had no idea what they were missing tonight.

I wrapped my arms around Hiccup's waist and leaned my chin on his shoulder, resting my head against his. He tensed up for a brief moment and his gaze flickered to me, half-questioning. I sighed contently, and he relaxed and smiled, looking forward again. I closed my eyes and let the cool wind blow against my face and through my hair. I never wanted this night to end.

Somewhere it the back of my mind, it bothered me that Hiccup had proved me wrong. And what really bothered me was that I didn't understand why I didn't even care. It wasn't this afternoon that I was ready to expose Hiccup's secret. And now I didn't even want to. I wasn't the same person, and I didn't know what had changed. All I knew as I gently embraced Hiccup was that I sure didn't mind it.

After a few minutes, I breathed a sigh and sat up straight. "Alright, I admit it. This is pretty cool. It's... amazing." I glanced down at Toothless. "He's amazing." I reached down and patted the dragon on the side of his head.

We flew for a few more moments in silence. "So what now?" I asked.

Hiccup heaved a sigh and lowered his head.

"Hiccup, your final exam is tomorrow! You know you're gonna have to kill a-" I paused, realizing that I didn't want Toothless to hear this part. I leaned into Hiccup's ear and lowered my voice to a whisper. "-kill a dragon."

"Oh, don't remind me." He groaned, wincing.

Just then, Toothless dove sharply downward into a thick blanket of fog. I grabbed on to Hiccup again, startled. The dragon was making a throaty vibrating noise, jerking his head from left to right.

"Toothless, what's happening?" Hiccup asked. The dragon ignored him and we made a turn right. "Whoa, what is it?"

Through the fog, I could see other dragons now flying with us. "Get down!" Hiccup said through his teeth, laying down flat against Toothless. I bent down and leaned on him, my hands wrapped around him again. This didn't look good. "What's going on?" I asked, my voice a whisper.

"I don't know." He said. He placed his hand on the dragon's head. "Toothless, you gotta get us out of here, bud."

Toothless shook his hand away. The sound of humming and dragon screeches became louder as more and more appeared around us. There must have been hundreds of them flying through the fog, most carrying things in their claws.

"It... looks like they're hauling in their kill." Hiccup observed, his voice unsteady.

I swallowed. "Uh... what does that make us?"

A Zippleback peered at us with its two heads, seeming to be smirking. Following the other dragons, we swooped down lower once again, but this time it became clear where we were headed to. A large volcano-like mountain was straight ahead of us. Even more dragons were swarming all around, going inside different entrances. I tightened my hold around Hiccup's waist as we got closer and closer, dodging the rock columns as we flew past. So this was where Toothless was taking us. The dragons' nest. He must have had some kind of an instinct to be able to find it when he got near.

Finally we entered an opening in the mountain. There was a orange-red glow lighting up the inside, making it feel eerie. Even more dragons were inside, huddled on rock ledges and flying around. My eyes were wide with terror as I glanced around, clinging to Hiccup as tightly as I could and leaning my face onto his shoulder.

Hiccup shook his head in awe. "What my dad wouldn't give to find this," He mused.

Toothless flew around inside, searching for a place to land. When he spotted an empty ledge, he landed and hid behind a large rock connected to the ceiling. We peered over the edge, and at the bottom of the cave was just one large pit. Orange smoke was floating around inside of it, so we couldn't see how deep it was. Every dragon that had just come inside the nest dropped their kill down the hole as they flew over it.

Hiccup turned toward me. "Well, it's satisfying to know that all of our food has been dumped down a hole."

"They're not eating any of it." I said in agreement. So, for all those years, dragons had raided us and stolen our food, and this was where it all went?

Hiccup and I watched as a Gronkle buzzed over the pit and spit out a tiny fish. He scratched himself with his back leg and then started to make his way over to one of the ledges.

Just then, the cave filled with a deep rumbling noise, and from the bottomless pit arose an enormous dragon. It opened its giant mouth, exposing its jagged teeth, and engulfed the Gronkle before it had cleared the hole. Then it sunk back down into the foggy abyss, grumbling again.

"What... is that?" I choked out, my face drained pale with horror. Hiccup leaned back, shielding me, as the giant dragon resurfaced again. It began sniffing the air, as if it knew we were here. Hiccup then quickly bent over to Toothless. "Alright, bud, we gotta get out of here. _Now_."

Toothless took off just before the dragon snapped its mouth shut on us. Apparently, that was the signal for all the other dragons to flee the nest. Hundreds of them swarmed upwards, racing toward a large opening in the top of the cave that led outside. We managed to make it out among the rest of the luckier dragons and then headed straight back to the cove in the forest.

Both of us were too terrified to speak most of the way there. It took practically the whole ride just to get my heartbeat to return to normal.

Once we were near the island, Hiccup was the first to speak. "I don't get it." He said quietly. "So they only steal our food so that they can feed that... thing?" He turned to me. "They do it because it threatens them, or..." He trailed of, confused.

"No, no, it totally makes sense." I clarified just as we flew into the cove. "It's like a giant beehive. They're the workers and that's their queen. It controls them." I jumped off of Toothless as soon as we landed. "Let's find your dad."

"No, no!" Hiccup protested, quickly sliding off of the dragon and following me. He stopped me by the pond in the center of the cove. "No. Not yet-they'll kill Toothless. No, Astrid, we have to think this through, carefully." He turned and slowly walked the other direction.

"Hiccup, we just discovered the dragon's nest. The thing we've been after since Vikings first sailed here! And you wanna keep it a secret?" I grunted in disbelief. "What-to protect your... _pet dragon_? Are you serious?"

Hiccup turned to me, his moonlit expression solemn. "Yes."

My bitter countenance softened, and I suddenly realized that he knew what he was doing. Or at least that he knew more about what was going on with this than I did. And I suddenly found myself trusting him.

I stared at his profile for a moment until he turned away from me again. "Okay." I sighed. "Then what do we do?"

"Just... give me until tomorrow." He told me, glancing in my direction for a second. "I'll figure something out."

"Okay." I looked down at the ground. Then suddenly I remembered that I was still mad at him for almost killing me on that dragon ride. I punched his shoulder.

Hiccup narrowed his eyes in confusion as he put his hand on his upper arm, rubbing it.

"That's for kidnapping me." I explained.

He shook his head and looked over at Toothless, who was drinking water from the pond a few yards away. The dragon grunted, then returned to drinking. Hiccup turned back to me, not making eye contact.

I peeked over at him through my eyelashes, and then nervously tucked my hair behind my ear. Then before I could change my mind, I reached out, grabbing him by his harness, and kissed him on the cheek. "That's for... everything else."

Hiccup stood in stunned silence as I turned and walked away. I glanced backward at him, then picked up to a run. I didn't stop until I reached the crevice in the rocks and was out of the cove.

Safely out of his view, I leaned back against the stone wall and slid down to a sitting position, my pulse rising against my will. I hugged my knees closer to my chest and closed my eyes.

Inside, there was a part of me that couldn't believe that I had just done that. But a bigger part of me could. Because that was real. I really felt that way.

A few hours ago, I'd hated his guts. But now I found myself falling in love with him. I'd never felt this way before; a mixture of emotions swarmed through me as if I couldn't decide which one to feel. Confusion. Happiness. Shock. It was strange and new, and I didn't understand it, but, in a way, it felt comforting. Like it was right.

I stood up slowly, leaning against the rocks as I did, and made my way back to the village. It took longer in the dark, but the moon lit enough of the path that I could see where I was going.

I reached my house and sighed with relief as I dreamed of sleep; I was so tired. I snuck inside the back door and crawled into my bed, instantly dozing off.


	2. Chapter 2

Part 2

"Mornin', Astrid." A cheery villager greeted me the next morning on my way through the market-place. I smiled and nodded his way, although I didn't feel all that happy inside. This was the day that Hiccup was to kill the Monstrous Nightmare in front of everyone, and the whole village was celebrating. Except for Hiccup and me. I wasn't sure about him, but_ I_was terrified.

I made my way to the dragon arena among hundreds of other villagers. I managed to squeeze through the crowd and then headed toward the main tunnel to the inside of the ring.

"Well, I can show my face in public again!" Stoik joked as he stood in front of everyone in the stands, beginning his speech.

I got to the tunnel and found Hiccup standing at the mouth, his viking helmet in his hands. My heart flopped when I saw him. His back was to me, so I couldn't see his face. But by the way his shoulders were slightly hunched and head was lowered, I could tell he was as nervous as I was.

I would have gone up and stood in the stands with everyone else-Snotlout said he'd save me a spot by him... _yay_-but I felt like I needed to talk to Hiccup. He needed to know that I was there for him; right beside him. So I stood at the back of the tunnel, waiting for Stoik to finish his address.

"...But, here we are." Stoik said to the crowd, his booming voice echoing through the stadium. His speech was now almost over. "And no one is more surprised-or more proud-than I am. Today, my boy becomes a Viking. Today, he becomes one of us!"

Cheers erupted through the crowd as I walked down the tunnel, running my hand along the cold stone wall. "Be careful with that dragon," I told him.

"It's not the the dragon I'm worried about." Hiccup said, still facing the other way. He looked out as the crowd chanted his name.

"What are you gonna do?"

"Put an end to this. I have to try." He turned to me, looking down. Then he raised his eyes to me, and a worried expression crossed his features. "Astrid, if something... goes wrong, just make sure they don't find Toothless."

Fear and concern began to stir inside of me as I looked into his eyes. "I will. Just-promise me it wont go wrong." I pleaded, my voice trembling on the last few words. I didn't want anything to happen to him.

Hiccup opened his mouth to say something, but Gobber appeared at the front of the tunnel, interrupting him. "It's time, Hiccup." He said, an encouraging smile on his face. "Knock 'em dead."

Hiccup turned to go, glancing back at me one last time before entering the ring. He placed his helmet on his head and walked out as Gobber closed the tunnel's gate.

I watched in nervous suspense from behind the bars of the gate as Hiccup picked up a shield and a dagger from the weapon board. He turned toward the caged door that the dragon was inside of and took a deep breath. "I'm ready," He announced.

A pully unlocked the cage and a Monstrous Nightmare, engulfed in flames, burst through the door. Hiccup jumped backwards, raising his shield. The Nightmare growled at him, then ran along the wall and blew a stream of fire at a crowd of people. It then climbed upside down across the chains that formed the roof of the arena, and then lowered itself to the ground, slowly creeping toward Hiccup.

The crowd leaned in, anxiously awaiting Hiccup's first move. "Go on, Hiccup!" Some chanted. "Give it to him!"

The dragon was slowly advancing toward Hiccup. It was about a foot from him, and Hiccup dropped his dagger and shield, holding his hands out to it.

Confusion emanated from the murmuring crowd. I squinted my eyes, trying to get a better view.

"Hey, it's okay. It's okay." Hiccup said to the Nightmare. Then he lifted his helmet off of his head and glanced up at Stoik in the stands. "I'm not one of them." He said, tossing his helmet to the ground.

Stoik leaned forward with a shocked but angry expression. I looked around at the alarmed crowd. People gasped and protested.

"Stop the fight." Stoik demanded.

"No! I need you all to see this." Hiccup let his hand hover above the nose of the dragon. "They're not what we think they are. We don't have to kill them."

The Nightmare calmed down, closing its eyes part way.

"I said, 'Stop the fight!'" Stoik shouted, standing up and banging his hammer on the railing above the ring.

Startled, the Monstrous Nightmare's eyes shot open, and it snapped at Hiccup's hand.

Hiccup jumped back and sped toward the wall, the dragon chasing after him. He managed to dodge a stream of flames that was fired at him, and then he ran, stumbling, to the other side of the arena.

"Hiccup!" I screamed, holding on to the bars of the gate with both hands. I needed to get out there and help him. I grabbed an axe off of the wall and used it to pry the gate open a little at the bottom, just big enough for me to squeeze through.

Hiccup ducked as more fire blew his way, and then he ran to the weapons board and grabbed a shield. The dragon smashed the board as he chased after him.

Inside the ring, I yelled Hiccup's name again as I tried to find a way to distract the dragon. I glanced down at a hammer laying on the ground. I picked it up and swung it at the dragon, and it nailed him in the head. I was panting as it narrowed its eyes and then came after me. I ran as fast as I could the other direction.

"This way!" I heard Stoik bellow from the other side of the arena. I looked around and saw him standing in the tunnel, the gate all the way open. I ran over to him, Hiccup following behind me. The dragon shot a blast of fire at the wall right next to us and Stoik pushed me against the wall, blocking the flames from me.

The Nightmare was headed our direction, so Hiccup skidded to a stop and then and ran the other way. The dragon chased after him and bounced off of the wall and landed on top of him, trapping him with its huge claws. I sucked in a breath, putting my hand over my mouth.

Just then, a high-pitched noise sounded from above us, and a white blast of fire exploded in the ring. A cloud of smoke obstructed the view from above as people panicked and climbed on the chain roofing, trying desperately to see what was going on.

There was clawing and growling as the Nightmare and Toothless rolled out of the smoke. They fought and snapped at each other, and then Toothless threw the Nightmare off of him and snarled. He backed up, shielding Hiccup, who was on his knees, panting.

Toothless snarled a few times and jumped at the Nightmare every time it tried to attack him. He gave one final growl, lunging forward at it. The Nightmare backed away, and then ran back inside its cage.

Hiccup struggled to his feet and ran over to his dragon. "Alright, Toothless, go. Get out of here." He told it, pushing his head with both of his hands. Toothless ignored him when he noticed viking men dropping into the ring, grabbing weapons and shouting.

"Go!_ Go_!" Hiccup yelled as the men came closer. Toothless just glared at the men coming at him and narrowed his eyes.

Next to me, Stoik grabbed an axe from the wall and ran out into the ring. I gasped. "Stoik, don't!" I cried, but he ignored me.

Hiccup's eyes widened as he noticed Stoik running toward him and Toothless. "No, Dad! Dad, he won't hurt you!" He pleaded.

Toothless growled and bared his teeth, then jumped toward one of the vikings who was running at him with a weapon. He knocked the man to the ground and then smacked some against the wall. When he reached Stoik, he jumped on top of him and they rolled, Toothless ending up on top.

"Toothless, stop!" Hiccup pleaded. The dragon's mouth was open wide, ready to blast Stoik. "No. No!" Hiccup shouted.

Toothless stopped and closed his mouth, looking back at Hiccup with a hurt and confused gaze. Hiccup was breathing heavily as he looked back at his dragon, the same hurt in his own eyes. He knew what was going to happen next.

"Get him!" Some men yelled, wrestling the dragon to the ground. Toothless struggled under their grasps, but he couldn't get away.

I ran over to Hiccup and grabbed on to him, holding him back as he tried to go over to Toothless. "Oh, no, no, please! Just don't hurt him!" He begged, struggling against me. "Please don't hurt him."

Stoik managed to stand up and regain his balance. A few men came to his side, and one held an axe out to him. Stoik glared at the dragon for a moment, then pushed the axe away. "Put him with the others." He demanded.


	3. Chapter 3

Part 3

I sighed again as I leaned my head back against the wall, squeezing my eyes shut. The afternoon sun beat against my face, and my pulse was still high.

Stoik had dragged Hiccup off after they put Toothless in one of the dragon cages. I didn't know where they went, so I stood outside of the arena, waiting in anxiety for Hiccup to show up somewhere. I was worried about him; the look on Stoik's face had been enough to scare me half to death. And he was taking it out on Hiccup.

My legs started to give out, so I sat down against the sun-warmed stone wall. I put my head in my hands, trying to calm myself down.

A few moments later, I jerked my head up in surprise as I heard someone shout, "Ready the ships!"

I gasped and then waited a couple of seconds before peeking around the corner. It was Stoik. He hadn't noticed me, but he was heading my direction. I tried to look casual as he passed by me, not even making eye contact.

My hands clenched into fists. I wanted to know what he was doing, what had happened with Hiccup. I looked from left to right, stood up slowly, and then followed behind him as he made his way to the village.

After a few minutes, he passed by Gobber on his way, stopping him. I ducked behind a building so they wouldn't see me.

"Tell the men to get the ships ready, Gobber. We're gonna find it this time." Stoik ordered.

"Are you sure?" Gobber asked doubtingly. "Because we just went out. Maybe we should wait for spring before we-"

"No, we're finding it. I know how to get there."

Oh, no. Had he made Hiccup tell him that we'd found the nest? This was not good.

"Oh, do you?" Gobber asked, a hint of doubt in his voice. "Well then, let's get goin', I guess." He cleared his throat but then continued, more quietly. "So, where's Hiccup now?"

"He's no longer my concern." Stoik said, his tone harsh.

I put my hands to my mouth and tried to keep myself from gasping. This couldn't be happening. Had Stoik really just said that about his son? I mean, Hiccup had always been an embarrassment to him, but he'd still loved him. Now, just because he'd tried to befriend the enemy, Stoik marked him as a traitor?

But then again, that was the exact same thing I had thought to myself when I first found out about Toothless. That Hiccup had betrayed us.

But I didn't understand at first either. It took a whole night of riding on a dragon to make me realize that this was a good thing. That Toothless could be the key to putting an end to our on-going feud with the dragons.

The hard part was trying to convince this to Stoik and the rest of the tribe. Hiccup had just tried that, but it didn't end well.

Hiccup. I had to find him. I turned around and headed toward the pier, fighting the anger and fear that was stirring inside of me. What would happen if they found the nest? And what about that monster of a dragon Hiccup and I had seen that night? Not even a whole army of vikings could take that thing down. They'd all be killed. We needed a plan, and fast.

I got to the cliff-edge pier, and down below the men were already loading the ships. I scanned the area for any sign of Hiccup, but then noticed a bunch of people gathered around as they maneuvered a crane dangling a large wooden plank above one of the ships. I realized with a shock that Toothless was on it. They set him in the ship and tied him down, and he struggled under the ropes and chains. What were they doing with him?

To get a better view, I went down closer to the water and the boat docks, and then found my way to the front of the crowd of people watching. I saw Stoik put the final harness on Toothless, making sure he couldn't escape. "Set sail!" He yelled. "We head for Helheim's Gate." He looked around, making sure that all the other ships were ready, but then something caught his eye. He did a slight double-take at something off in the distance. I followed his gaze and then noticed someone standing on the edge of a cliff overlooking the bay. Hiccup.

"Sorry, excuse me!" I said, shoving through the people flooding the pier. I ran up the wooden walkways that ran along the cliff wall, making my way to the top as fast as I could.

By the time I got there, I was panting. I stood back a little ways, just staring at Hiccup as I tried to slow my breathing. He was facing the other way, looking forlornly over the edge of cliff. His shoulders were hunched and his head was hanging, similar to the way he looked earlier today before he went into the dragon ring. Except now, instead of nervous, he seemed hopeless.

I looked at the ground, trying to think of what I would say to him. Why did it seem so hard to talk to him now? Before yesterday, I could rant off at him whatever I felt like at the time, not caring what he felt. But now I had to pick my words more carefully, because he meant more to me than he did before.

A ship pulled out of the harbor, the rest following behind. About a dozen boats sailed off, getting smaller and smaller, until one by one they disappeared over the horizon.

I took a deep breath and then slowly walked up beside him. He noticed me out of the corner of his eye and turned slightly away from me. I looked out at the vast ocean before us, taking in the silence between us as the waves crashed below. I sighed quietly. "It's a mess." I stated. "You must feel horrible. You've lost everything: your father, your tribe, your best friend..."

"Thank you for summing that up." He concluded for me. I looked down. I was supposed to be making him feel better. Smooth, Astrid.

Hiccup shook his head. "Why couldn't I have killed that dragon when I found him in the woods?" He sighed, his tone heavy with resentment. "It would've been better for everyone."

"Yup. The rest of us would've done it." I stated matter-of-factly. I glanced over at him. "So why didn't _you_?"

He stared at the ground and didn't answer.

"Why didn't you?" I repeated.

He shrugged and turned away. "I don't know. I couldn't."

"That's not an answer."

"Why is this so important to you all of a sudden?" He protested.

I leaned over closer to his direction. "Because I want to remember what you say, right now."

He spun back around toward me and threw his hands up. "Oh for the love of-I... I was a coward! I was weak. I wouldn't kill a dragon."

"You said 'wouldn't' that time."

"Oh, you-whatever! I wouldn't! Three hundred years, and I'm the first viking who wouldn't kill a dragon."

My gaze softened as I stared back at him, feeling a pang of empathy. He no longer saw everything that had happened as a good thing; he was wishing all away. But he didn't get it.

He turned from me, hanging his head.

Being different wasn't always a bad thing. So what if he was the first viking who wouldn't kill a dragon? I leaned over to him. "First to ride one, though."

Hiccup looked up, understanding finally hitting him. I pressed him to finish answering my question. "So...?"

He slowly turned back around, searching for the right words. "...I wouldn't kill him because he looked as frightened as I was. I looked at him... and I saw myself."

I glanced down as his words seeped through me. They made perfect sense. He was probably the only viking in history who had ever felt sympathy for a dragon. And only because he knew exactly what it felt like; to feel alone and afraid.

"I bet he's really frightened now." I said, glancing out over the water in the direction that the ships had taken off. "What are you gonna do about it?"

He shrugged. "Eh... probably somethin' stupid."

I grinned and shook my head. "Good, but you've already done that."

His green eyes widened as he lifted a finger to me. "Then something crazy." He smirked as he backed up, and then turned around, running down the wooden walkway in the direction of the village.

"That's more like it." I smiled, then followed after him.


	4. Chapter 4

Part 4

"Okay guys, Hiccup and I need your help." I said to Snoutlout, Fishlegs, and the twins. Hiccup had told me to gather them together and then meet him in the dragon arena. Right now we were making our way there.

Snoutlout wiped one of his hands on his fur vest. "With what?"

That was the thing. Hiccup hadn't told me what he was planning to do about all this. I just trusted that he had an idea.

I decided to guess. "I don't really know, but I'm thinking it has something to do with dragons." Judging by the fact that we were meeting in the dragon ring.

We were now at the arena, and we went through the tunnel to get inside.

Hiccup was standing, facing one of the dragon's cages. I realized that it was the Monstrous Nightmare's. This really was a crazy plan.

Fishlegs spoke up first. "If you're planning on getting eaten, I'd definitely go with the Gronkle."

Hiccup turned around and faced us.

Tuffnut knocked his sister out of the way and walked up to Hiccup. "You were wise to seek help from the world's most deadly weapon." He paused. "It's me."

As Hiccup glanced awkwardly to the side, Snotlout decided to show his support. He put his hand on Tuffnut's face and then pushed him aside, facing Hiccup. "I _love_ this plan." He declared, pumping his fists in front of him.

"I... didn't-"

Ruffnut bumped Snotlout over and stood directly in front of Hiccup. "You're crazy." She declared, then glanced back and leaned in closer, lowering her voice to a whisper. "I like that."

Not on my watch. I grabbed her by her braid and pulled her out the way. "So," I said to Hiccup, taking her place. "What _is_ the plan?"

He smiled at me and then heaved a sigh. "Okay." He began, rubbing his hands together. "Long story short, every viking that went out on those ships earlier is in danger."

"You mean those that went to find the dragon's nest?" Tuffnut asked, slowly rubbing the side of his head.

"Yes." Hiccup replied. "There's a reason that those dragons are always raiding us. There's something on their island; a giant dragon that they're forced to feed. And if they don't, it'll eat _them_.

"Those people that went out there were planning on taking over the nest. But they don't know about that monster. It could kill them all."

I nodded, silently agreeing to what he said. I looked over at the others, who seemed a little lost.

"Okay, there's something I need to show you." Hiccup said, turning around to the cage behind him.

He told Tuff and Snotlout to open the pully-lock on the door. They agreed and went up into the stands and heaved on the chain. As soon as the door was open, they jumped back down into the ring.

Hiccup cautiously walked inside the dark cage, holding his hand out in front of him. We watched as a few moments later, he came out with the Nightmare. He was walking backward with his hand hovering above the dragon's nose, it calmly following him out.

The others stood in awe as they watched this. I smiled. That was my Hiccup.

Snotlout nervously glanced around, and then his eyes darted to to a spear laying on the ground. He bent over to pick it up. I slapped his arm with the back of my hand, giving him a disapproving "Uh, uh." He sighed and dropped the spear.

Hiccup led the dragon toward Snotlout, and then reached for his arm. Lout cringed away. "Wait! What are you-"

"It's okay," Hiccup reassured him, taking his hand and placing it on the dragon's nose. "It's okay."

Snotlout winced, but then he relaxed and chuckled in amazement as the Nightmare calmly exhaled and gazed up at him.

Hiccup smiled and then ran over to the opposite end of the ring.

"Where are you going?" Snotlout asked in confusion as he eyed the dragon nervously again.

Hiccup bent over to a supply crate and rummaged through it. "You're gonna need something to help you hold on," He told us, producing a coil of rope.

Our eyes widened as we turned around and noticed three other dragons emerging from their cages. A Gronkle, Zippleback, and a Nadder made their way across the ring toward us. I grinned and shook my head.

"No way!" Ruff and Tuff shouted and they ran over to the Zippleback.

Snotlout, his hand still on the Nightmare, took a piece of rope as Hiccup handed it to him. "Are we seriously gonna ride these things?" He asked, half astonished, half excited.

"You bet." Hiccup said, tossing the others some rope. "It's the fastest way to get there. Did you expect us to walk?"

I giggled and tied my rope loosely around the Nadder's neck.

After making sure that everyone else was on their dragons and ready to leave, Hiccup came over to me and climbed onto the Nadder. When he was positioned right, he held out his hand to me. This time I took it, and he pulled me up and helped me on behind him. I smiled and wrapped my arms around his waist, and then we took off.

The familiar sense of weightlessness washed over me as we soared above our village and out over the ocean. I glanced behind me at the others, who seemed to be getting the hang of flying. Fishlegs was perched on his Gronkle, holding on to the rope around its neck. Snotlout had ahold of the horns on the Monstrous Nightmare as if they were handlebars. Ruff and Tuff each sat on one of the Zippleback's two heads.

We were flying for a few minutes before we got into the thick fog that led up to the island. It was then that the dragons' homing instincts kicked in, and started heading toward the nest.

We swooped around the jagged stone columns poking out above the water. It was all too quiet, until we heard the deafening sound of a dragon screeching. That beast must have already came out of the mountain. My pulse quickened. We needed to hurry.

The glow of orange penetrated through the fog, and we flew higher to be able to clear the mountain. They were on the other side of the island; the roaring and sneering was getting louder.

Right as we reached the peak, Snotlout's dragon blew a blast of fire to signal our arrival. It sure was one to make an entrance.

We swooped down and flew around the monster. "Ruff, Tuff, watch your backs!" Hiccup ordered. "Move, Fishlegs!"

Down below, everyone had stopped what they were doing and were staring in disbelief at the sight we were presenting to them.

"Look at us! We're on a dragon!" Tuffnut proclaimed excitedly. "We're on dragons, all of us!"

We flew along the edge of the island, passing by the slew of ships anchored to the shore. To my horror, they were all on fire, sending clouds of smoke into the air around us. I held my breath as we came back around to the dragon again.

"Fishlegs, break it down." Hiccup ordered as we circled the giant beast. It clutched a boat between its jaws, and then released it as it went flying into a rock column, smashing to pieces.

"Okay," Fishlegs began as he observed the dragon. "Heavily armored skull, and tail made for bashing and crushing. Steer clear of both. Small eyes, large nostrils; relies on hearing and smell."

Hiccup gave a brief nod and then turned to the others. "Okay, Lout, Legs, hang in its blind-spot. Make some noise, keep it confused. Ruff, Tuff: find out if it has a shot limit. Make it mad."

"That's my specialty!" Ruffnut announced.

"Since when? Everyone knows I'm more irritating. See?" Tuffnut flipped his dragon's head upside down and made a gobbling noise while hanging from it.

"Just do what I told you!" Hiccup told them. "I'll be back as soon as I can."

I saluted them as we flew off toward the burning ships again. I could hear Snotlout yell, "Don't worry, we've got it covered!" before we went out of earshot. We flew into the puffs of smoke, and Hiccup searched each ship carefully. Then, among the creaking of the collapsing wood, we heard the growling whine of a dragon. "There!" Hiccup said, and we dove down to one of the ships, following Toothless' noise.

As we were still flying, Hiccup scooted a little to the side, and I moved up to the front, taking his place. I grabbed on to the rope and he stood up behind me, placing his hand on my shoulder to keep his balance. The Nadder stopped and hovered just above the burning ship, flames roaring up toward us, and Hiccup jumped, landing on the deck right in front of Toothless. He turned around and looked up at me. "Go help the others!" He ordered.

I nodded to myself; Hiccup was already turned around and trying to free his dragon of the endless chains and harnesses. I took a deep breath and steered back toward everyone else. My heart was pounding in my chest, and I reassured myself that it was going to be okay.

When I reached the giant dragon again, I found Snotlout on its head, banging a couple of its many eyes with a hammer. "I can't miss! What's wrong, buddy?" He asked it jokingly. "Got something in your eye?"

It lifted its head and roared in pain. I flew around closer to him and decided to show my encouragement. "Yeah! You're the viking!" I cheered.

He beamed at my compliment, and then hit the dragon's eye again.

It blinked its eye and then jerked its head back, sending Snotlout flying through the air. He landed on the edge of the dragon and grabbed onto one of the little plates sticking out of its head. He watched as his hammer fell and then finally hit the ground, then swung himself back up onto the top of the plate.

The dragon was backing up toward the ships lined up along the shoreline. It swung its spiky tail and knocked some of the masts down. Then the dragon's back foot landed on top of a boat and smashed it to pieces, sending everything sinking into the water.

My breath caught in my throat as I stared at the sight from afar. Hiccup was on one of those ships.

I forced myself to return to the others, and then helped them distract the dragon and keep it away from all the other people. For a few minutes, we banged more stuff together, blew fire at it, and even yelled at it a few times. Anything to buy us some time.

Where was Hiccup? Panic began to seep through me at the mere thought of what might have happened to him. What if the dragon knocked him underwater and he never made it up?

I swallowed and took a deep breath. I watched in the direction of the ships, hoping-praying-to see Hiccup and Toothless appear and come flying toward me.

Then, after a few moments that seemed like an eternity, Toothless came shooting up out of the clouds of fog and smoke surrounding the shore. My heart seemed to go limp with relief when I saw Hiccup riding on the back of him. "He's up!" I exclaimed, then flew back over to the giant.

I met up with Ruff and Tuff on my way over. "Get Snotlout out of there!" I ordered.

"I'm on it!" They said at the same time. Then they started arguing as they headed toward the monster. Snotlout saw them coming, so he ran to the edge of the giant's head and jumped on the Zippleback as they flew by.

"I know, I can't believe that worked!" Tuffnut said as they swerved away from the dragon. I followed after them, but then heard the growling sound of the monster behind me. I gasped and realized that I was being sucked into the dragon's mouth. I grabbed on tighter to the rope around my Nadder's neck as it flapped its wings as hard as it could. But we were only getting sucked in deeper. I felt my body come out from under me and then the only thing holding me to the Nadder was my hands gripping the rope. I held my breath as the dragon's jaw slowly began to close on me.

Then, out of nowhere, a blast of fire hit the beast in the head and sent me flying off of my dragon. I screamed as I free fell through the air, the rocky earth getting closer and closer. I squeezed my eyes shut.

About fifteen feet before my death, something caught onto my leg and I was soaring upside-down along the ground. I opened my eyes and looked up, the wind whipping against my face.

"Did you get her?" I heard Hiccup yell.

Toothless lowered his head and looked underneath of himself, where he was holding me by my foot. He made a happy noise, and his mouth parted into what looked like a smile. I laughed.

We swooped down lower to the ground, and while still flying, Toothless swung me forward and grabbed on to my arm. Once I was right-side-up, he used his other leg to support my back as he set me down onto the ground. Since we had been going so fast, I had to run a little ways to keep from falling over when he let go of me.

I watched them shoot back up into the air again, headed toward the dragon. My heart was pounding as I gazed after them. "Go." I breathed.

Toothless flew straight up into the air, and then turned around and dove back down. When they were almost directly above the monster, Toothless shot a huge blast a fire at it. The force of the blow knocked the giant over onto its side, and dust and smoke filled the air around us.

I coughed and covered my face as dust flew past us. I had made my way back over to Gobber, Stoik, and the others, and now all we could do was watch the fight from below.

Now even angrier than before, the dragon started to stand up as it slowly spread out its gigantic wings. Their tattered corners told us that they hadn't been used for quite a while. Once they were fully spread out, the dragon lifted them up and then laboriously flapped them downwards, lifting himself into the air. He flapped again and again, following after Hiccup as he shot across the island.

Toothless flew out across the water, dodging the rock columns that they went past. The giant chased them, smashing into the columns and knocking them down. Pieces of rock flew at us, and we shielded our faces again.

They flew along the water for a few seconds longer, then Toothless and Hiccup shot straight up into the sky. We watched from below as the dragon flew up right behind them. Then the dark clouds overtook their figures and we couldn't see them anymore.

After a few moments of suspenseful silence, a white blast exploded in the sky. Toothless shot one after another at the monster until it finally fought back, blowing fire out out like a blowtorch. It lit up the whole sky, and the dark smoke mixed with the grey clouds. Before we knew it, Toothless came shooting down from the smoke.

I covered my mouth with my hand. Half of Toothless' tail was on fire. Following too close behind was the giant.

They were only flying through the air for about about thirty seconds. But it seemed like an eternity. Because as Toothless suddenly turned around to face the dragon, I could tell Hiccup had had a plan all along.

Toothless shot a blast of fire, but this time it was aimed straight for the giant's open mouth. They swerved away from the flames quickly lighting up inside the beast, and the huge dragon crashed to the ground, sending rocks and debris flying everywhere. We were all knocked off of our feet from the blow, and the whole ground shook with such force that it was difficult to stand up again.

I scrambled to my knees and watched the enormous puff of smoke and flames roar up into the air. I held my breath as the fire heated my face, even from as far away as I was.

Where was Hiccup?

Then I spotted him and Toothless flying up out of the flames. My relief was short lived, though, as the giant's spiky tail appeared into their path. They collided with it, sending Hiccup falling down into the flames.

I couldn't even hear myself as I screamed, tears stinging my eyes. It had all happened so fast that I didn't want to believe it really had. Someone grabbed my arm, pulling me backwards as the flames came closer. I stumbled in the direction I was being pulled, my vision blurry and my whole body suddenly weak. Then I couldn't run anymore. I was too tired... too tired...

I could feel myself being lifted from off of the ground, someone carrying me. I wanted to know what was going on, but my eyes wouldn't open. So I let my world stay dark.


	5. Chapter 5

Part 5

"Astrid."

I didn't understand why someone was saying my name. But then they said it again, a little bit louder.

"Astrid?"

I opened my eyes the slightest bit. Gobber was right above me, a worried look on his face. I pushed myself up into a sitting position. What was I doing here?

"How are you feeling?" He asked me.

I struggled to remember how I ended up laying on the ground, away from the debris. "I'm-I'm fine." I stated. "What happened?"

"Aye, you must have fainted from the heat." He explained, notably more relaxed now that he knew I was okay.

I looked around. A large crowd a ways away was gathered near the mountain. Then it hit me. "Hiccup," I stammered. "Is... is he alright?"

A grave look crossed Gobber's face. It took him a few moments before he replied. "We haven't found him yet."

"What?" I scrambled to my feet and ran toward the crowd of people. I stumbled half of the way, which allowed Gobber to catch up with me. I shoved my way through the mass of people until I came out at the front. I gasped as I noticed Stoik a ways away, on his knees. He was in front of Toothless, who was laying on the ground, his saddle and reining all in shambles.

Tears filled my eyes, but somehow, I wasn't crying. I was too shocked; too hurt to understand why. I lowered my head and stared at the gravel-covered earth. So this was how it ended. Sure, it would seem triumphant in the long run. But right now, he was the one that mattered most to me. And as the the seconds dragged agonizingly along, I couldn't help but realize that I'd discovered this too late.

Toothless let out a groan and slowly lifted his head a few inches off of the ground, opening his eyes part-way.

"Oh, son." I could barely hear Stoik murmur. "I'm so sorry."

The dragon opened his eyes more as he shifted his weight, then slowly and carefully opened his wings one by one.

A collective gasp came from the crowd as Hiccup was revealed, cradled safely up against the dragon's body.

"Hiccup!" Stoik exclaimed, running up to his son. Hiccup was unconscious as Stoik lifted him up and held him in his arms. He took his helmet off and pressed his ear to Hiccup's chest, listening for a heartbeat. After a few seconds, a sob shook through him and he cried, "He's alive."

Cheers erupted as Stoik's gaze flickered to Toothless. "You brought him back alive." He choked out, tears in his eyes.

I was beaming uncontrollably, my hands over my mouth. I couldn't remember ever feeling so relieved and so happy at the same time. There was such an overflow of emotion running through me that the tears that were frozen in my eyes a moments ago came out.

I watched as Stoik, still holding his son close, placed a gentle hand on the dragon's head. "Thank you," He said softly. "for saving my son."

Toothless gazed at him for a moment, and then laid his head back down on the ground, closing his eyes.

Gobber had made his way over to Stoik and was examining Hiccup, his face somber. "Well... you know." He said after a moment, glancing down at Hiccup's legs. "Most of him."


	6. Chapter 6

Part 6

I gripped the bucket handle with both hands as I carried it down the dirt road toward my house. The smell of fish floated up toward me and I wrinkled my nose. How did I get stuck with this job, anyway? Hauling buckets of water around to put out fires was better than this.

When I reached my house, I dumped the fish out of the bucket and into a metal pot, and then took the empty bucket back outside. I sat down on the front step, trying my best to enjoy the beautiful day. Everything was perfect: the sun was shining and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. The children were laughing and playing, the women chatting happily, and even the men working on house repairs seemed lighthearted.

I, for one, was becoming more and more restless as the sunny day wore on. It was almost noon, and there was still no sign of Hiccup. He was fine, of course-or so everyone told me-he was still in a coma from yesterday.

Gobber said it was a good thing that Hiccup was so unconscious when they replaced his leg. I would bet. And I was far away when they did it.

Yesterday, as soon as Stoik had discovered Hiccup, he sent a group of men-along with Fishlegs, Tuffnut, and Snotlout-to fly on dragons back to Berk and then bring the few ships that were left in the harbor back to the island. I begged Stoik to let me go back with them, but he wouldn't oblige. So I was stuck on the island with everyone else, waiting in painful suspense for the ships to arrive so we could go home.

"So." I'd heard someone say as I sat on the rocky ground of the island the day before, my knees to my chest. I looked up and noticed Ruffnut standing above me. She sat down right next to me and didn't say anything for a while.

"So what?" I asked quietly. It bugged me that she'd started a sentence and didn't finish it.

She looked straight ahead. "You've been acting... really different lately." She said it like it was a statement that didn't really require an explanation.

I followed her gaze, staring out at the empty beach in front of me, lonely and hopeless. I sighed. "Yeah. I _am_ different."

"I think we're all a little different." She concluded.

I absent-mindedly picked up a handful of pebbles and let them sift between my fingers. She was right, and it was so weird. Two weeks, and none of us were the same person we'd been years ago. And I knew why. Apparently, so did Ruffnut.

She let out a short laugh, leaning back and planting her hands behind her. "Hiccup." She said, shaking her head.

I glanced over at her. "What?"

She was was still looking ahead. "That kid," she grinned. "sure likes to surprise people."

I had to agree with that. Despite the dismal mood I was in, a small smile spread across my face. "You have no idea." I murmured.

For the first time, she looked over at me, studying me for a moment. "You really do like him."

I closed my eyes, then put my face in my hands. "I don't know." I stammered. "I thought I hated him. We all did." Hearing those words, they just seemed wrong. Mean. And they seemed fine to say back then, but now, it was different.

"But then?"

"But then, last night after he won the tournament..." I sighed. "Something happened, and everything just changed." After a few seconds, I looked up. "Oh, this probably all sounds so cheesy."

"No," Ruff cut in unexpectedly. "For once, it sounds like the truth."

"What do you mean?" I asked, looking over at her.

"I mean that it all makes so much sense. Why you've been acting so... different."

There was that word again. But it was the only one that ever seemed to fit.

She continued. "Yesterday, after the tournament, you were so mad at Hiccup you looked like you wanted to kill him. Then all of a sudden you were defending him. You knew his plan, and you were right behind him..." She trailed off. "And you were even the last one of us to start liking him."

I thought about that for a moment. And then I realized that to someone who hadn't been there that night, it really would be confusing, they way I was acting lately. Those few hours seemed to turn my life in a totally different direction. And I was still trying to figure out which direction it was.

Ruffnut and I talked until the ships arrived. It was a great distraction, something to keep my mind off of the more serious matter at hand. And it worked.

"Hey, Astrid."

I looked up now, squinting from the sun as Snotlout stood before me. "Oh, hey." I replied quickly, standing up from the step.

"We were just wondering if you wanted to come with us. We were gonna take the dragons out for a little ride." He said.

I glanced around me. "Um... thanks. But I'm not up to it right now."

He creased his eyebrows. "You sure?"

I nodded. "But you guys have fun though," I told him, picking up the empty fish bucket. He looked at me for a few more seconds before shrugging and turning around to leave.

I took the bucket around to the side of the house and dipped it in the water trough. It probably seemed weird that I didn't want to go with them, but flying just wasn't the same if Hiccup wasn't there. I guess I really just needed to pull myself together a little more. I could tell it was going to be a long day.

When I'd scrubbed out the bucket, I carried it back to the house and set it next to the door. Then I wandered down the road in the general direction of the harbor. But the distant sound of a crowd shouting behind me made me stop and turn. I noticed a group of people gathering around something, but from as far away as I was, I couldn't tell what it was.

I started to slowly make my way over to the crowd, just to see what everyone was so worked up about. What I noticed next, though, made me pick up to a run. A stumbling, hectic run toward Hiccup's house.

When I finally reached the crowd, I found an opening and squeezed my way through. As I tried to slow my breathing, I looked at Hiccup, who was facing the other way. He was smiling at something Gobber had said, lifting up his peg leg. I must have missed the beginning of the joke, because all of a sudden everyone laughed.

I made my way over to him, not exactly knowing what I was going to do once I got there. But I guess my natural instinct took over because the first thing I did was reach out and punch him in the shoulder.

"Ow!" He exclaimed as he spun around to face me. Other than a few scrapes on his face, he didn't look too badly hurt.

I felt myself relax after that, and a small smirk spread across my face. "That's for scaring me." I quickly explained.

Then, maybe it was just the knowledge that he was alright. Maybe it was just something I knew I needed to discover for myself. But in that moment I felt something warm fill me.

Hiccup shook his head in confusion. "W-what?" He stuttered, waving his hands. "What, is it always gonna be this way? 'Cause-"

I narrowed my eyes and grabbed onto his shirt, moving closer to him. The next moment seemed to pass in slow motion: Pulling him toward me, slowly closing my eyes, and watching him do the same. Those seconds that our lips touched; everything inside of me going off. Every bit of worry I'd felt over the past twenty-four hours slowly melting away, being replaced by this insanely wonderful feeling that was impossible to describe.

Too soon, it felt, I pulled back, relaxing my fingers and letting go of him. Everything came into focus again as I opened my eyes.

Hiccup blinked a few times, still coming back around. Then he glanced at me. "...I could get used to it." He murmured after a few moments, giving me a soft smile.

I felt my face flush as I grinned back.

"Welcome home." Gobber said, handing Hiccup a saddle and a tail for Toothless. Hiccup beamed up at him.

Just then a door slammed open. "Night Fury!" We heard someone yell. Hiccup and I simultaneously looked over at the door to his house as someone else shouted, "Get down!"

Toothless jumped out from behind the crowd of people, climbing over top of them in order to reach us. After knocking a few people to the ground, he landed in front of us. I shook my head and looked over at Hiccup. He gave me a sheepish grin, and then we burst out laughing.

* * *

><p>I led my Nadder over to Hiccup, who was finishing up the rigging on Toothless' new saddle. A few moments later, he stood up and wiped his hands on his tunic. "Okay. I think we're good to go." He said, smiling over at me.<p>

I climbed onto my dragon and gripped the rope with both hands.

Hiccup pulled himself onto Toothless and I heard the metal click as his prosthetic foot locked into place in the stirrup. He shifted the weight of his foot and the fake half of his dragon's tail opened up. Hiccup took a deep breath, then leaned down and patted Toothless on the side of his head. "You ready?" He asked him.

The dragon gave him an excited grunt opened his wings.

Hiccup then glanced over at me, and I grinned and gave him a quick nod. He turned back ahead and leaned forward, and then they shot into the sky. I flew off right after them.

We dove up and down, darting around buildings and cliff edges. In a way it reminded me of my first experience with riding on a dragon-crazy and wild. But this time I was in control.

One by one, the other teens joined us as we flew past. I don't remember how long we were out there, but I didn't want it to end. Those few moments of feeling weightless were just indescribable. Kind of like everything that had happened in the past two days. The crazy, the heartbreaking, the amazing moments that were all part of the ending. Everyone who'd hurt me-all the things I thought I'd lost. The sad times, the happy times, and everything else... were worth it. Because I'd gained more than I ever imagined I could hold.

* * *

><p><strong>There ya have it! PLEASE, please review! You have no idea how much it means to me. What did u like? What should I improve on? Stuff like that. <strong>

**Thanks for reading! ^_^**


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